What is a Native Tree?

Ontario has three forest regions; the northern Boreal Forest, the Great lakes - St. Lawrence Forest (in which the Arboretum is found), and the Southern Deciduous Forest. Within these forest regions there are approximately 85 native tree species.

A native tree of Ontario is any tree species that was found in this province before the initial settlement of Europeans. Our Native Trees of Ontario Collection also contains some naturalized trees. These are species that were brought from Europe and Asia by European settlers and have invaded natural areas so as to now be found in many parts of the province. 

The current Native Trees of Ontario Collection was originally based on a list of some 85 species compiled by Dennis Joyce and Brad Graham in 1994. The list was enhanced to include all species covered by the Tree Atlas project in a attempt to recognize that a number of species have been introduced since the pre-settlement forest was described. Aside from the discovery of 4 native woody plant species over the last 30 years, more than 35 exotic woody plant species have been naturalized in Ontario.

The Native Trees of Ontario Collection is #8 on our Visitors Map [1].